Does a surname spoil a first name!?

I absolutely adore the name [name_f]Iona[/name_f]. It is my absolute favourite girls name and I would love to be able to use this name for a potential future daughter. Only issue I have is my surname. We already have 6 children who all have the surname as do my husband and I. The surname begins with an animal and ends with a ‘ton’ I can’t unhear ‘I own a… And then the animal’ :sob: I’m sure most wouldn’t make the connection, my other children have never had any issue with their surname.

Perhaps I’m over thinking it.

Does this make the name unusable? :pensive: I’ve even thought we could potentially double barrel [name_f]Iona[/name_f] but I’m not a fan of [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f] etc

Any suggestions!!! ”:blush:

I think it depends on what the name sounds like with the surname. I wouldn’t recommend “[name_f]Iona[/name_f] [name_m]Wolf[/name_m]” for example, but something like “[name_f]Iona[/name_f] Wolfston” might work fine because the “[name_m]Wolf[/name_m]” sound is less prominent.

I have this issue too. [name_f]Iona[/name_f] is one of my favourites, and we have a strong Scottish connection, but our surname is basically two nouns :frowning: For me, that did rule it out, but I don’t think it absolutely has to, especially since your surname ends in a distinctive surname suffix.

I’d agree about not messing around with [name_f]Iona[/name_f]; its simplicity and fluidity is a big part of its beauty, and I think double-barrelling it (especially with the ubiquitous [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f] or [name_f]Mae[/name_f]) spoils that somewhat.

Have you considered using [name_f]Ione[/name_f] instead?
That said, I don’t think something like [name_f]Iona[/name_f] Foxton or [name_f]Iona[/name_f] Bearton sounds that bad. Most people wouldn’t make the connection and if they did maybe they’d make a quick comment/joke about it and get over it.

I think the fact it ends in ‘ton’ means you could get away with it.

Alternatively, there’s [name_f]Ilona[/name_f], [name_f]Flora[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] and [name_f]Twyla[/name_f] which give me similar vibes and sounds

Thankyou for your replies. I’m so pleased with them! Myself and my husband both love the name, which is a rarity when it’s came to naming our children! I agree with the hyphen, I’d hate to spoil the name as it is simply beautiful on its own. Fingers crossed for a baby [name_f]Iona[/name_f] in the near future.

This! Exactly this.